Playing Pretend
by ParchmentandQuill8
Summary: Leonard and Sara are sent on a mission in which they are forced to play the role of a married couple. While they learn the joys and perils of domesticity, some less made up feelings are revealed.


**I hope you were looking for a long-ass oneshot, because this should definitely satisfy you. I meant to keep it on the shorter side, but then I got carried away and it ended up being about thirty pages, so, yeah. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"So this is it?" Leonard placed several cardboard boxes heavily on the floor.

"Looks like it." Sara replied.

They were standing in a house that looked remarkably like the one Sara had grown up in. The floors were of a light, knotty pine that stretched through the whole house. The kitchen was all white, which Sara knew would be a pain in the ass to clean. The furniture was minimalistic and the rooms were bright and airy.

They were in London 1993. Savage had all but disappeared from the public eye during this time, but Gideon's facial recognition software had picked up on him in this area. Their mission was just to figure out where Savage was and what he was doing. No stealing, no killing, just observing.

Rip would have preferred to assign this particular mission to Ray and Kendra like he had in the 50's, but Savage would recognize them both now.

Both Jax and Stein weren't options because they was too young and too old respectively to logically be living alone in a suburban neighborhood, and besides, they couldn't be separated for more than a few hours without causing a nuclear explosion.

Mick still had a bit of redeeming to do after his brief stint as Cronus before Rip let him go on any missions such as these.

That left Leonard and Sara. It wasn't ideal, Rip thought, but they'd have to do, which is how the team's resident crook and assassin ended up taking on the identities of a newly married couple moving into the suburbs.

They spent the first day unpacking. Rip had supplied them with more stuff than either of them thought was necessary, and they were emptying cardboard boxes long into the night.

"You own a lot of black." Sara grumbled, picking through a box of Leonard's clothes.

"Find me a darker color and I'll wear it instead."

Sara rolled her eyes.

* * *

Leonard, always the gentleman, gave Sara the bed, opting to sleep on the couch. Sara smirked and told him that they were both adults and could share a bed without it being weird, but Leonard declined. If it bothered Sara, she didn't show it; just shrugged as he walked away.

If Leonard was being honest, it wasn't that he didn't want to share a bed with Sara. It was the contrary, and when she'd asked, his heart had done a thing he couldn't explain. As it turns out, pretending to be married and the intimacy that came with it was a bit heavier on the emotions than Leonard could take. Maybe someday, at some point, it wouldn't be, but for now, he'd have to go slow, take baby steps.

* * *

Something Leonard very quickly realized was how different living in a house was from living on the Waverider. He was surprised by how many things he hadn't known about Sara until they lived together.

One of those things was how she looked first thing in the morning, when her hair was tousled, her pajamas were rumpled, and her eyes were droopy. He'd somehow never seen her without her hair and makeup done before. Maybe it was because the Waverider was so big; the whole team could spread away from each other. Or maybe it was because their sleep schedules never lined up. (That's not to say Sara had a sleep schedule. She slept whenever and wherever she wanted, something Leonard learned very quickly. One morning, she would have already showered, eaten breakfast, and worked out before he'd even woken up and sometimes, the morning would be long gone before she'd traipsed out of bed).

For whatever reason, Leonard had never seen Sara when she first woke up in the morning. He found it a bit disconcerting. Her face was a little bit softer, a bit more vulnerable. Sara looking vulnerable unsettled Leonard, and for some reason, he couldn't look away.

* * *

"Wanna watch a movie, crook." Sara had said about a week into their stay. She was sitting in bed with a laptop on her lap.

"What'd you have in mind?"

"Jurassic Park."

"Funny, didn't pin you for a dinosaur kind of girl."

"Do you wanna watch it or not."

"Why not. There's nothing else to do here." Leonard started towards the living room, but Sara shook her head.

"Nuh-uh. I'm watching it on the laptop so I can sit in bed."

Sara shoved over and gestured towards the empty spot on the mattress. Leonard hesitated before toeing off his boots and climbing into the bed. Sara smirked at him before starting the movie.

Leonard had seen Jurassic Park when it first came out. Both he and Lisa had been science fiction fanatics when they were younger, and he remembered being almost as excited as his sister for a whole movie about dinosaurs. He didn't really pay much attention to the movie this time around, though. About halfway through, Sara had leaned onto his side, resting her cheek on his arm. Leonard had flinched at her touch, but she either didn't notice or didn't care, because she didn't move away.

As he watched the movie, he fiddled with the wedding ring Gideon had fabricated for him. It was narrow and made of a polished silver. He'd very quickly adjusted to the extra weight on his ring finger. Technically, he didn't have to be wearing it at that moment; it was meant for situations where he and Sara would have to actually be playing the role of a married couple around others. Nonetheless, he'd slipped the ring on as soon as he'd gotten it. He wasn't sure that Sara would do the same — she wasn't much of a jewelry person — but he'd felt oddly happy when she put her ring on.

She'd smirked at him afterwards, saying, "Looks like we're married now, crook."

"In your dreams, assassin." he'd replied.

As the end credits of the movie rolled across the screen, Leonard realized that Sara had fallen asleep. Her legs were tucked underneath her and her hair fell like a curtain in front of her face. Leonard wasn't entirely sure what to do.

When Lisa was younger, she'd fallen asleep next to him all the time. Usually she'd be sort of draped across his chest while he read her a bedtime story and she'd just fall asleep that way. She'd been such a deep sleeper that she never noticed him moving her when he got up to leave. There was nothing stopping Leonard from doing the same with Sara, but for some reason, he couldn't. Maybe because this was Sara. This was the person who was as broken as he was, and yet here she was, allowing herself to trust someone enough to sleep peacefully next to them. He couldn't just leave.

So Leonard grabbed a pillow and stuck it behind his head.

He figured he'd be asleep in a few moments, but almost an hour later, his eyes were still open. It was his arms that were keeping him up; they were tingling with pins and needles. He had them held stiffly by his sides because he didn't know what else to do with them. If he could just move them somewhere else, he'd be more comfortable. He exhaled and, his heart doing somersaults, reached an arm out to stretch around Sara's shoulders. He tried to mimic what he'd done with Lisa when she'd had nightmares. Those nights, she'd run into his bedroom, shaking with silent sobs, and Leonard would cradle her in his arms, holding her as close to him as possible. Those nights, he wouldn't bring her back to her own bed after she'd fallen asleep.

Feeling much more comfortable, Leonard closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.

* * *

Sara was gone when Leonard woke up the next morning. He'd been surprised to find himself disappointed that she wasn't lying there next to him.

Leonard sat forward and rubbed his back and neck. They ached from sleeping in an upright position. He heard noises from down the hallway and got out of bed, following the sound into the kitchen. He saw Sara standing at the oven, watching over a pan of scrambled eggs.

Another thing Leonard learned while living with Sara was how horrible a cook she was. Most of her attempts at making a meal usually ended in flames or an explosion or both (which gave Leonard the chance to experiment with some more practical uses for his cold gun). Eggs were at the top of a very short list of food she could consistently make well, along with toast, pasta, and anything microwaveable.

"Want some?" Sara waved a spatula in his direction as he entered the kitchen.

"Sure." Leonard sat at the island across from her, "If you haven't poisoned it yet."

"If I was going to kill you," Sara smirked, dividing the scrambled eggs between two plates. "you'd have no idea it was even happening until the very end, and it wouldn't be with poison."

She eyed him mischievously, not breaking eye contact until she was sitting next to him at the counter.

"So how'd you like Jurassic Park?" Sara asked, pouring too much salt and pepper on her eggs.

"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing, but then again, you slept through most of it."

"I thought you would have moved me."

Leonard didn't respond, so after a while, Sara gave up.

"We should be getting a call from Rip later today, so he can give us the next part of the mission."

"Good. I'm starting to get restless hanging around here, and we all know what happens when I get restless."

Rip had given Leonard and Sara a few days to settle in. Then, the mission to track Savage would begin in full swing.

They both already knew that Savage and his current wife lived in a house similar to Leonard and Sara's, one that was right next door. Sara could see Savage leave for work every morning and it took all of her self control to not go after him then and there, but Rip's words echoed in her mind.

 _No stealing, no killing, just observing._

Rip called them about an hour after Sara and Leonard finished breakfast, using the video-conference capabilities of the laptop Sara had insisted she bring with her. Rip had protested the laptop at first, saying that this type of technology wouldn't be created until 2016, but Sara didn't care.

Rip also found that video-chatting with Leonard and Sara was more effective than talking over the phone because neither had the attention span or the patience to listen to him for extended amounts of time. He'd found this out firsthand when he'd called them on the phone to check up on them one day and realized after twenty minutes that they'd both walked off. This way, he could make sure they were at least in the room while he was talking to them.

"If Gideon's research is correct, then Savage will be at a charity gala held at the town hall tonight." Rip began.

"Funny." Sara smirked at the computer, "I didn't pin Savage as a charity kind of guy."

"Yes, and that's why we need to assume he has ulterior motives." Rip reminded her. "Which is why you'll both be there."

"I'm not exactly a charity kind of guy either, Rip." Leonard drawled.

"Well, too bad. You agreed to this mission, you're going to follow through on it."

Leonard rolled his eyes and reached forward to slam the laptop shut.

* * *

A few hours later, Sara and Leonard were walking into an old, fancy building with white pillars and shiny floors that reflected a glass chandelier hanging from the tall ceiling.

Leonard was, as usual, wearing all black, but had traded in his usual parka and jeans for a sleek tuxedo.

"You clean up nice, crook." Sara nudged him as they past a plethora of waiters bearing platters of thousand dollar champagne.

"As do you, assassin." Leonard replied, snagging a couple of glasses.

He had been a bit taken aback when he'd first seen Sara after she got dressed. They'd spent the past few days hanging around their house and Sara had been wearing what Leonard assumed to be the same pair of sweats the entire time.

Then Sara had gone and put on a dress and now Leonard didn't know what to think.

Sara had donned a form fitting, floor length ballgown of a deep red color. It had a sweetheart neckline and off the shoulder sleeves. The skirt flared out at the end like the tail of a mermaid and it fanned out as she walked. It was a simple dress, but in an entire room filled with overdressed people, Leonard only saw her.

Apparently, the same could be said for a number of men and a few women attending the gala, of whom she'd caught the eye. She ignored them, yet Leonard sensed that Sara would still have to fight off a few not-so-well-meaning suitors throughout the night. He was interested in seeing what her nonviolent method was, as her slightly more brutal technique of pulverizing any creeps was not well-suited for any environment that wasn't a bar.

He flinched as Sara grabbed his arm.

"You really don't like touching, do you, Snart." Sara said curiously as she pulled her hand away.

"I have reasons not to."

"Well, we have to blend in," Sara reminded him, grabbing his arm and placing it around her waist, "and I don't bite."

"Yes, but you do maim and kill." Leonard rolled his eyes, trying to ignore his heart doing backflips.

"Then I guess you better not make me mad, crook." Sara smirked up at him. She felt his hand relax slightly. "See, this isn't so bad."

"Might I remind you both of the task at hand." Leonard and Sara both jumped as they heard Rip's voice. forgetting the comm systems they'd put in their ears. "You need to find Savage."

"Already done, Rip." Leonard argued.

"Where?" Sara asked, not wanting to indiscreetly look around for him.

"Five o'clock."

Sara glanced over her shoulder in the direction Leonard had indicated. "Any chance of him recognizing us?"

"Perhaps."

"What do you mean 'perhaps'?" Rip exclaimed through the comms. "Have you already been spotted? I knew it was a mistake to send you both on this mission!"

"Calm yourself, Rip." Leonard said, "He hasn't seen us yet."

"Yeah, have a little faith, Hunter." Sara added.

"'Have a little faith' she tells me." Rip muttered, and Leonard could practically see the captain take a long draft from his flask. "That's real comforting to hear from an assassin."

Sara ignored Rip and began to walk with Leonard around the edge of the ballroom.

"Who's he talking to?" she asked, craning her neck to keep Savage in her line of vision.

Leonard looked over the heads of the crowd to see Savage speaking to several security guards, seemingly gesturing in their direction.

"Sara, we've got a situation."

Sara had apparently realized the same thing because as Leonard said this, she grabbed his coat lapels.

"Quick, kiss me while he's looking."

Leonard didn't have time to protest; Sara had already locked her lips against his. Leonard found himself automatically leaning into the kiss, grabbing Sara's waist and pulling her towards him. He heard a sharp inhale as her lips parted.

They broke apart just in time to see Savage waving off the security guards.

"Savage has a lot of things, but common sense is not one of them." Sara said, blinking a few times.

Leonard didn't answer her. He was staring blankly, shocked into silence. Suddenly, everything made sense; his heart jumping and skipping when Sara touched him or when their eyes locked. It all made sense.

"Wait, where'd he go?" he heard Sara exclaim. Leonard glanced back to see that Savage had disappeared. "We need to leave." Sara said. She grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the room.

* * *

She'd just kissed him to throw Savage off. That's it. But now, Sara's trying to pretend her heart isn't about to explode as she pulled Leonard out of the charity gala.

She hadn't expected him to reciprocate the kiss. Moreover, she'd never imagined it would be that good. It was really good. Good enough that she wanted to kiss him again, but she couldn't because they were about five seconds away from having their cover blown.

"What happened?" she heard Rip yell through the comm in her ear.

"Savage saw us." Sara said, refusing to let go of Leonard's arm even as they exited the building.

Rip groaned. "Well, just get back to the house. I don't have the patience to deal with this now. We'll talk later."

Leonard and Sara both heard a click as the comms were disconnected.

* * *

They made it back to their house without any problems, or at least, they were pretty sure there weren't any problems.

"So that didn't go well." Sara said after she'd collapsed on the couch. Both of them had changed out of their formalwear already. Sara removed the makeup she'd been wearing and put on sweatpants and a grey tank top. Leonard was grateful for that; seeing her in that damned dress was borderline torture.

"No, it did not." Leonard replied.

"Rip's gonna call soon and yell at us." Sara rolled her eyes.

Leonard shrugged. "Oh well."

Rip did call them about fifteen minutes later and he did yell at them, rambling on about responsibility and the importance of keeping their covers.

"So why don't we just leave?" Leonard finally interrupted. "Bring us back to the Waverider and we can leave this time and go find Savage somewhere else!"

"We can't extract you now. He'd get suspicious and anyway we still don't know what he's doing. Just lay low for a few days."

Rip hung up on Sara and Leonard soon after that, no longer able to cope with their unwillingness to cooperate.

"I'm going to bed." Sara announced.

"I suppose that means I will too." Leonard began to adjust the cushions on the couch.

"Nuh-uh." Sara shook her head. She grabbed his arm and started pulling him down the hallway. "You're gonna stop being a baby and you're gonna sleep in the bed."

"Sara." Leonard protested weakly.

Sara ignored him and he was secretly grateful. Last night, aside from being in an uncomfortable upright position, he'd slept better than he had in a while and he thought that Sara might have had something to do with it.

Upon reaching the bedroom, Sara claimed the right side of the bed, pushing back the covers and climbing under them. She gestured for him to do the same on the left. Once he was next to her, Sara reached over to the lamp next to the bed and turned off the light. However, she didn't close her eyes. Instead, she rolled over to face him.

"Sara." Leonard said expectantly when she didn't say anything.

"Leonard."

He's lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling, but when she doesn't say anything more, he turns his head to look at her. She's on her side with her arm bent so she could rest the side of her head in her palm.

"Any reason why you're staring at me?"

"I'm trying to figure you out."

"And how's that working out for you?"

"I'll tell you when I know more."

Leonard looked back to the ceiling, choosing to ignore her until she spoke again. He didn't have to wait very long.

"Are we gonna talk about it?" Sara asked.

"Talk about what?" he answered, although he was pretty sure he knew what she meant.

"You know," Sara paused, "The kiss."

Leonard was intrigued to hear Sara hesitate before mentioning the kiss, as if she'd wanted to avoid referring to it at all.

"We're playing a role." he answered, even though he wasn't entirely sure he agreed with what he was saying. "It's method acting. We have to be believable. Married couples kiss, so we kissed. That's all."

"Okay."

Sara rolled away from him, and in the dark, neither could see the disappointment on the other's face.

* * *

Rip's testament to lay low only lasted about ten hours. It was the next morning, and both Leonard and Sara were awake. Sara had risen particularly late that morning, so Leonard had made breakfast for them. That was something that Sara discovered about Leonard. While she was possibly one of the worst cooks, he was actually quite good. He had made for them French toast and bacon with strawberries and blueberries on the side.

"Since when could you cook?" Sara had asked while eating her second helping.

"Since you started paying attention." Leonard had shot back and Sara rolled her eyes at him. He'd just smiled fondly at her, but looked away before she could notice.

Per the system they'd created, because Leonard had made breakfast, Sara had been tasked with cleaning up after it. She was in the process of putting all of the dirty plates, glasses, and silverware into the dishwasher when the doorbell rang.

Sara turned and shot a questioning look to Leonard, who had been reading a book at the kitchen counter. They'd never introduced themselves to any of their neighbors, both because neither of them really wanted to, and also because Rip wanted as little disruption to the timeline as possible. Nobody should be at their door.

"I'll get it." Sara said.

"I'm coming with you." Leonard replied. Sara raised her eyebrows, but didn't challenge him. He followed her to the front door and waited for her to undo the latches and locks. She pulled the door open.

"Oh!" Sara exclaimed. Standing on the doorstep was no other but Vandal Savage. A woman presumed to be his wife was standing next to him.

"Hello." Savage said with a smile that was borderline friendly. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Joseph Colby and this is my wife Jessica. We live next door." Savage pointed to the house that both Leonard and Sara already knew was his.

Sara quickly recovered from the shock of seeing Savage and got into character. "Hi, I'm Sara. This is my husband Leonard. We just moved in a couple weeks ago."

"Yes I know." Savage replied. "I saw you at the charity gala last night, but I believe you left before I had a chance to introduce myself. I've been busy, so I haven't been able to stop by until now. I just wanted to welcome you to town and invite you to a party we're having tonight. The whole neighborhood will be there, it will give you an opportunity to meet everyone."

"That's very nice of you." Sara said politely.

Savage nodded and began back down the walkway.

"Welcome to the neighborhood. I hope you can make it tonight." Jessica Colby smiled sweetly before turning to follow her husband.

Sara watched their retreating backs for a moment before closing and locking the door.

"Rip's gonna kill us," she groaned, leaning against the front door in defeat.

"No he won't." Leonard argued, "Isn't this what he wants? He wants us to observe Savage. What better way to do that than inside his house. We can snoop around, figure out what the hell he's doing."

—

As it turns out, Rip had the same viewpoint as Leonard, which was why he and Sara were walking up Vandal Savage's driveway with a bottle of wine in hand.

"What?" Leonard had said after Sara had narrowed her eyes bewilderedly at his suggestion of housewarming gift, "Don't people do that sort of thing?"

"Yeah, but…"

"What?"

"Nothing. Never mind."

The front door was partly open when they reached it, so Sara and Leonard let themselves in.

Savage had not been exaggerating when he said that he'd invited the whole neighborhood. They'd not yet made it through the doorway and already they could see at least twenty five people milling around the house.

"Hello!" Savage's wife, Jessica Colby appeared in front of them, "I'm so glad you could make it!"

"Thanks for inviting us." Sara smiled. "You have a lovely home."

"Thank you so much!" Jessica replied. "Would you like a tour?"

"Yeah sure, that'd be great." Sara replied, realizing that casing the house wouldn't even be necessary. Savage's wife was going to give them all the information they needed.

Sara grabbed Leonard's hand as Jessica began to lead them up a wooden staircase.

"So how did you two meet?" Jessica asked, seeing the gesture.

"A friend introduced us." Sara replied. It wasn't exactly a lie, it just wasn't the entire truth.

"How lovely."

At this point, they'd reached the second floor of the house, and Jessica began to point out different rooms along with various objects that were deemed worthy of their own recognition. This was punctuated by more questions about Sara and Leonard's "relationship".

"So how long have you been married?"

"'Bout six months." Sara replied as Jessica pointed out a guest bedroom.

"And what about the wedding? Was it beautiful?"

"Yeah, it was." Sara feigned a reminiscent smile. "It was pretty small, we just invited close friends and family. Neither of us are particularly big fans of crowds. That's why we left that charity gala early yesterday. They're a bit overwhelming."

"I can understand that, but trust me, you get used to them. Joseph is invited to all kinds of events like that, and, to be honest, I don't usually even know what they're for." Jessica laughed. Sara was started to get the feeling that Jessica Colby had no idea who she was really married to. Her suspicions were confirmed when they stopped in front of a padlocked door at the end of the hallway. "This is Joseph's office. Unfortunately, I can't show you inside because he keeps it locked most of the time. He won't even tell _me_ what he gets up to in there."

Sara raised her eyebrows knowingly at Leonard.

"Anyway," Jessica continued, leading them back towards the stairs. "How about the honeymoon? Where did you go?"

"Here, actually." Sara replied, and Leonard was impressed at how easily the story rolled off of her tongue, as if she'd rehearsed it a hundred times before. It was so convincing, in fact, that Leonard allowed himself to believe for a moment that it was true. "We're from America — hence, y'know, the accents — but we both liked it here in London so much that we decided to just stay."

"And how's married life treating you?"

"I couldn't be happier." Sara replied, and Leonard didn't flinch as she wrapped her arms around his middle, resting her cheek against his side. Leonard, realizing that she couldn't be the only one to play the role, draped an arm around her waist. "I can't even describe how much I love him."

"And how about you?" Jessica turned to Leonard.

"I love her more than my own life." Leonard said, realizing as he did that he wasn't acting. "As long as I'm with her, I'm happy."

The rest of the evening was spent similarly. Jessica gave them the rest of the tour, and both Sara and Leonard took mental notes of anything they thought was suspicious. Then, she left them to begin setting up for dinner.

They took position at the edge of the room, where they had full scope of the party. Leonard noticed after a moment that Sara still hadn't let go of his hand since leading him to where they now stood. He couldn't contain the smile that followed that thought.

They seemed to be attracting a fair amount of attention from the partygoers, although no more than usual. They were used to the looks they got by now, it being the case during most missions they took together.

"Hey crook, kiss me." Sara had said after a few young women had not-so-discreetly pointed their way.

"What?"

"Kiss me." Sara repeated. "They'll love it."

Like at the charity gala a few nights before, Leonard didn't have much time to protest. Sara had already leaned towards him, but unlike their first kiss, it was himself that bridged the gap between them. Leonard's arms wrapped around Sara's waist. One of her hands was on the back of his neck, pulling him closer to her; the other came to rest gently on his cheek. After what felt like hours, they pulled apart, breathing heavily. Neither moved away from the other; her hands stayed by Leonard's face, his arms remained draped around her waist. They stared into each other's eyes, a hint of a smirk on each of their lips. Finally, Sara took a minuscule step backwards and dropped her arms back down by her sides, glancing surreptitiously around her.

"Did they see?" she asked.

"I think one of them just swooned."

Their production even caused a few people to go over and talk to them.

"You two are really great together." one woman said after introducing herself as a neighbor from down the street. She leaned a bit closer to Sara to say her next words. "You know, he hasn't taken his eyes off of you since you walked in."

The woman flushed slightly and excused herself, smiling knowingly at Sara as she went. Sara turned to look up at him. He said nothing, just smirked back at her.

"You're a better actor than I thought, Len." she said. Leonard took note of the nickname. She'd never called him that before and for some reason, it didn't seem to have been brought on by a desire to fulfill the mission. Besides, no one could hear them anyway.

"Lucky I don't have to try so hard, assassin."

Sara furrowed her eyebrows in response, but didn't say anything more. She turned away again to observe the partygoers.

* * *

Not much came out of going to the party. The only thing that intrigued Rip when they retold their information was the locked office that even Savage's wife was denied access to. Rip agreed that it should be investigated, but he decided that it was far too risky to send either Leonard or Sara into Vandal Savage's house with the full intent of breaking and entering the one room they weren't supposed to be in. The goal of the mission, Rip reminded them when they argued this, was to observe, not to reveal two more members of his team to Savage. Instead, he decided that he would send in Ray, who would pose as a visitor of Leonard and Sara's. Then, while Savage and his wife were at their jobs, he would shrink down in his A.T.O.M. suit and investigate the locked room.

"Ugh, we have to be hospitable tomorrow." Sara groaned into her pillow later that night. She and Leonard had quickly made a habit out of talking long into the night, after Sara had switched off the lamp and they were surrounded by darkness. Leonard noticed that as the days went by, Sara would lie closer and closer to him. Now, the distance between them was so small that he could easily reach out and run a hand through her hair. He had to fight hard to resist the urge to do so.

"It's only Raymond." Leonard answered her.

"I know." she said. "It's gonna be awful."

* * *

"Wow! Nice place you've got here." Ray said loudly. He had arrived, much to the delight of Leonard and Sara, at six thirty the next morning. Leonard was sure that Sara would punch Palmer, but to his great disappointment, she just gave him a withering glare and then collapsed in an exhausted stupor at the kitchen island.

"Raymond, are you aware of the time?" Leonard asked, starting the coffee maker.

"Yes, but Rip said I should get here as soon as possible in case Savage is an early riser."

"Do you even hear yourself?" Sara raised her head to shoot another angry look at Ray. "Savage would still be at work if you got here later."

"Oh." Ray furrowed his eyebrows. "I guess I didn't think about it like that."

Sara rolled her eyes and then let her head drop back down to rest on her arms.

"The Waverider's been quiet without you guys. Your constant bickering generated a lot more noise than we thought it did."

"You generate a lot of noise." Sara shot back, but her full retort was cut off as the doorbell rang. Sara didn't move to go answer it; her level of attention was low this early in the morning and she was spending all that she had on being angry at Ray.

"I guess I'll get the door." Leonard said. As he left, he slide a cup of coffee towards Sara. He returned a moment later followed by Jessica Colby. Sara instantly straightened, getting into character.

"Look who's here." Leonard raised his eyebrows at Sara.

"Sorry it's so early." Jessica said apologetically. "Joseph and I are off to work, but I just wanted to stop by and let you know that you were a hit at the party yesterday. My friend Nicole from down the street was gushing about you two all during dinner, and she wasn't the only one."

During this, Leonard had crossed the room to stand behind Sara, placing a hand on her shoulder. Sara instinctively leaned back against Leonard. Ray stood a few feet away, mouth agape as he took in the two most dangerous members of his team looking so, dare he say, at peace.

"Thank you." Sara smiled. Jessica turned and saw Ray.

"This is our friend Raymond." Leonard explained. "He just flew in from America to see the new place."

"Howdy ma'am." Ray put on a bad Southern accent as he stuck out his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Jessica delicately shook his hand, turning back to Leonard and Sara in confusion.

"Don't mind him." Sara rolled her eyes, "He doesn't know how to behave around new people."

"Ah, okay." Jessica smiled a bit stiffly. "Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for coming yesterday. I should be getting to work now. I'll let myself out. Enjoy your breakfast!"

Both Sara and Leonard smiled at Jessica as she left. They remained silent until they heard the front door close behind her.

"Well, well, well," Ray chuckled, "The criminal and the assassin were 'a hit'! I see you two are enjoying domestic life."

Neither Sara nor Leonard had moved yet. At some point during the conversation with Jessica, Leonard had begun to — perhaps unconsciously — run his thumb back and forth over Sara's shoulder and even after she'd left, he hadn't stopped. Sara didn't want him to; the feeling was borderline therapeutic. She just glared at Ray and said nothing, raising her coffee mug to her lips.

"Don't you have a job to do?" Leonard finally asked after a long silence, narrowing his eyes at Ray.

"Oh yeah, that's right." Ray jumped. "I, uh, just wanted to make sure Savage and his wife were gone."

"Sure." Sara rolled her eyes.

Ray quickly donned his super suit, shrunk down to a nearly invisible size, and flew out of the house.

"I'm so not looking forward to living with him again when this mission is over." Sara commented.

"Yeah." Leonard replied. He had a whole other set of reasons why he didn't want the mission to end. Finally, he stepped away from Sara. From where he was standing, he didn't see the disappointment flicker across her face. "Are you hungry? I can make breakfast."

* * *

They waited for Ray to return and he did about an hour later, describing as he did the locked office. According to Ray, it was a room dedicated to tracking Kendra and Carter, or whoever they were during this time. Apparently, Vandal Savage had no big maniacal scheme to take over the world in 1993. He was biding his time, waiting the days out.

Ray took his leave a little while after he returned from Savage's house, saying he'd relay his information to Rip and the rest of the team, and they'd contact Leonard and Sara later.

"Have fun being _hits_ at house parties." Ray smirked as he walked down their driveway.

"God, he's annoying." Sara said as she shut the door behind him. Leonard nodded, but didn't say anything. "What's wrong with you? You seem a little off."

"Nothing, I'm just tired. That idiot showed up early." Technically, Leonard wasn't lying. He _was_ exhausted, but that wasn't what was on his mind. He had suddenly come to the realization that this mission was drawing to a close, as was his time spent alone with Sara. That knowledge caused a sinking feeling in his stomach that he didn't want to figure out. He didn't have to though, because Sara reached forwards and grabbed Leonard's chin, turning his head so their eyes met.

"Are you sure you're okay, Len?"

"I'm fine," he insisted, pulling away from her.

* * *

Rip called them after they'd finished dinner, telling them that they'd garnered all the information they needed from this mission. He'd be picking them up the next day.

That night, after the lights had been turned off, Sara and Leonard didn't talk as they had all the nights before. Leonard had retreated to the leftmost edge of the mattress, and Sara, who had always respected his boundaries, didn't get any closer than she had to.

Leonard knew that this domesticity, this borderline normal life he and Sara had created in the past few weeks would end. He knew he would no longer get to make her breakfast or watch her attempt to do the same for him. Sara could no longer lean up against him during conversations. They could no longer talk long past midnight, and they could definitely not sleep side by side anymore. Leonard had known going into this mission that this charade would have to come to a close eventually, and he was okay with it, he supposed. He chose to just stuff the myriad of confusing emotions he was feeling next to the heartbreak he couldn't explain.

* * *

Sara woke up before him the next morning, and Leonard walked into the kitchen to see Sara both making breakfast and packing boxes simultaneously.

"You're burning the eggs." Leonard smirked. She moved towards the stove, but he waved her away. "No, I'll do it."

She glared at him, "I'm fully capable of-"

"Burning the house down? Yes, I know. I've had to put out several fires already. I would be impressed, but I've lived with Mick, which is essential like living in a fireplace."

Sara chuckled quietly. Leonard grabbed a permanent maker off of the counter and began labeling cardboard boxes.

"What's the point of all of this organization?" Sara asked, waving a hand towards a box she'd aptly labeled 'Kitchen Shit', into which she was now haphazardly emptying the contents of several drawers and cupboards, "This is all gonna end up in the cargo hold anyway."

"It's for when Rip has a sudden need for a colander."

"It's gonna be weird not living in a house again." Sara speculated, "I'd just gotten used to being on the Waverider before we came here."

"Yeah, I find the Waverider to be a bit too quiet for my taste." Leonard replied. "The silence of the time stream tends to be a bit-"

"Deafening." Sara finished.

"Yeah."

There was a long silence before Sara spoke again. "You know, I was really excited about the whole moving process when I was younger. I couldn't wait to have my own place just so I could get to pack boxes and all that stuff."

"That didn't really happen though." Leonard replied, remembering the stories she'd told him about the boat she'd gone on years ago.

"Nope."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I didn't really get to do any of that either, between jail and evading the cops, I never stayed in one place for too long. I think this was the first actual house I've lived in — one that was actually mine — since before juvie probably."

"Well, what did you think?"

"I didn't mind it, but that may have had more to do with having good company than anything else."

Sara smirked at him before turning back to the cardboard boxes.

* * *

Rip showed up at around five o'clock that evening. He'd brought Jax to assist Sara, Leonard, and himself with all the boxes.

"This is a nice place you got here." Jax said. "I wish I coulda seen it when it was all unpacked."

"You didn't miss much, kid." Leonard replied. "Just a lot of badly hidden knifes and some scorch marks."

"Scorch marks?" Rip repeated. "Mr. Rory wasn't even here."

"No, but you'd be interested in knowing that our assassin here can't cook to save her life."

Rip just sighed in defeat as Jax laughed.

* * *

It took a few hours, but with all four of their efforts combined, they managed to get all of the boxes packed and into the back of the moving van Rip had procured. As he and Jax started the truck, Leonard and Sara stood alone for a moment inside the now empty house that had been theirs for a few short weeks.

"So that was what a normal life feels like." Sara said. "Huh."

"I have to say that even I'm impressed." Leonard replied. A long silence followed his words.

"We should go." Sara finally said. "They're waiting."

* * *

Sara, Leonard, Rip, and Jax successfully made it back to the Waverider. After helping to bring the boxes from the moving van into the timeship, and giving a brief greeting to the rest of the team, Sara and Leonard disappeared into their separate rooms.

"In my experience," Rip explained, addressing the team's confusion. "These types missions tend to be a bit harder on the emotions than most. They'll be back to normal shortly, they just need a bit of time."

That didn't stop Mick from letting himself into Leonard's room later that night.

"You alright, boss?" he asked, not moving past the doorway. Leonard was sitting on his bed with his back against the wall. He was in the process of reassembling his cold gun, and the pieces were strewn around his legs.

"I will be." Leonard didn't look up. Mick didn't say anything more, just grunted in response and walked away.

He didn't go very far. He stopped in front of Sara's room and let himself in. She was sharpening her knifes, sitting cross-legged on her bed.

"You liked shacking up with Snart, didn't you?" Mick said, not waiting for Sara to say anything, "You really liked it. And now that the mission's over, everything has to go back to normal. You're disappointed."

Sara didn't say anything, just glared stonily up at Mick.

"You want my advice?" Mick asked.

"Not particularly."

"Can it, Blondie. You're getting it anyway." Mick hesitated. "Whatever it is you and Snart were doing doesn't have to end just because the mission did."

Without waiting for a response, Mick turned and walked away.

* * *

Leonard didn't move for a while. He just continued putting his cold gun back together.

He figured he should at least talk to Sara, even though every part of him told him to just squash down whatever he was feeling. That was what he'd always done in the past and for the most part, it was always worked. That is, until he'd met Sara. For some reason, Sara made him want to forget everything he'd done in the past. Sara made him want to actually feel something.

Finally, after the gun was completely reassembled, Leonard got to his feet. He hadn't even started walking towards his door before Sara strode through, not stopping until she was standing right in front of him. He hadn't even opened his mouth to say something when she'd pressed her lips against his. Leonard froze for a moment before reciprocating the kiss. Sara gripped his arms as his hands reached up to tangle in her hair.

This kiss was different from the first two. This time, they aren't trying to fool anyone. This time, they aren't putting on a show. This time, it's just them, nothing more. After what felt like an eternity, his hands traveled to her waist, lifting her so she stood on her toes. Her arms twined around his neck.

Their foreheads stayed pressed together even after they'd pulled away.

"I realized something." Sara said breathlessly.

"Yeah?"

"I wasn't acting."

* * *

 **This is probably the longest oneshot I've written and I'm actually super proud of it. I hope you all enjoyed it too!**


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